Tag: Superannuation

The Australian Taxation Office has urged small businesses to be aware of changes to their superannuation obligations, with reforms set to launch on 1 July.

Taking on an employee is a serious part of the business as there are many pitfalls that can bring you unstuck if the right processes are not followed. We focus on the legal aspects of hiring an employee from a tax office and superannuation stand point.

The Federal Treasurer has released the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) for 2012-2013, and it won’t come as any great surprise to SME owners that the economy, whilst not going backwards, is certainly not moving forwards as swiftly as the Treasurer would like. Here’s how the MYEFO announcement will impact small businesses over the foreseeable future.

Although generally employers and employees want the same things from a super fund, there are some key differences to take into account when choosing the default super fund for an organisation. Consider these four important points when deciding on a fund for your staff.

When a company struggles, there are plenty of creditors knocking at the door. However new ATO legislation extends the personal liability of directors for unpaid super and PAYG for their staff, making them a priority in who gets paid first.

They say there aren’t too many benefits of ageing, but a scheme called the Transition to Retirement Pension allows for bit of nifty restructuring that can reduce wages and increase cashflow – two benefits not to be sniffed at.

As a business owner, you face the constant decision of how much to allocate to superannuation versus how much to invest in business assets. Bit, if you own your own business and also have a self managed super fund (SMSF), you can have the best of both worlds. Here’s how.

Superannuation funds have had a disappointing start to the new financial year, with median growth funds (61 to 80 percent growth assets) falling 1.5 percent in July as a result of weak share markets globally.

COSBOA has raised concerns about the culture of the superannuation industry, where it believes many director positions appear to be “sinecures” for people from unions and big business associations.

Brad Callaughan blogs about the benefits to small business of using Self-Managed Super Funds to purchase commercial properties.

“You can have a tax effective asset that is held safely in a SMSF, with no recourse from the bank, and pay no tax when you sell it.”